Riders Ecstatic After Playoff Final Win

Category:NewsAuthor:Chris MortleyDate:29th April, 2013

Following a historic 68-57 victory over Newcastle Eagles in front of a packed Wembley Arena, Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders sealed an unforgettable treble of trophies for the season – completing the most successful campaign in the club’s history.

Your Leicester Riders Official Website presents the thoughts of three of the Riders players, who forged part of such an inspirational team, taken straight after the final buzzer in the Play-Off Final.

Riders centre, Anthony Rowe: “Right now; it’s unreal. I must admit, at the start of the season, I was at my lowest. I was injured and without a job and now I’m a Rider and it’s got better and better every month. Now this…I can’t put it into words, I’m on cloud nine, it’s excellent.

“I think we had to change our game plan just a tad today. We’re a defensive team, but I think our defensive intensity was even higher today and that’s probably why our offence was a little scrappy today and not as clinical, simply because we were working so hard and a lot of energy was spent on defence.”

Anthony Rowe – Playoff Final 2013

Spanish guard, Jorge Calvo: “I’m really, really happy. Not just for me, but for all of my team-mates, my coaches and all of the other things that are involved with the team. You look at the scenes after the game, with all of the fans joining us on the court, it’s like we’re in Leicester!

“From the first game, we knew that we would build our game on the defence – that’s what we do and we’re happy to have established that”

“For us, as soon as we got here, the feeling was the same – we’ve got to play basketball and we’ve got to play our game. We have to forget anything else around the court, but I have to admit that it was awesome to play at Wembley.

“From the first game, we knew that we would build our game on the defence – that’s what we do and we’re happy to have established that identity this season.”

Jorge Calvo – Play-off Final 2013

Guard Zaire Taylor: “This is a good feeling, but it’s almost a bittersweet feeling. Now, I’m back to reality. Basketball is always a great distraction, but now it’s back to the real world. It’s strange.

“The highlight for me and there was a moment in the game, where Jamell Anderson dunked on Kareem Maddox. That literally made me jump out of my seat.”